HoosierGuy

Dr. Juan Cole's opinion on the subject. London Riots: Its the Economy, Stupid (Not a Clash of Civilizations) | Informed Comment The unfortunate riots in Tottenham in London tell us a great deal about the problems of immigrant communities, and what they say to us most eloquently is that people want to be treated with justice. They want to be treated in accordance with a rule of law, and not singled out for extra policing on the basis of racial profiling. The demonstrations were set off by the police shooting of an African-Carribean man, and came in part in protest against the constant pat-downs to which African-Caribbeans are subjected by police. It is not completely clear what is driving the looting that has come in the wake of the rioting. It could just be opportunism (a wave of looting once swept New York City just because the lights went out because of a problem in the electrical grid). Some of the arson seems mindless, but then the US saw similar things in the late 1960s. When people hate their lives, they sometimes lash out, even at the few nice buildings in their neighborhood. The looting may also be organized crime (and some of the arson and sabotage may be intended to cover for looting and burglary by these gangs). The looting is not the main issue, in any case; it is rather the demonstrations and riots that have created the conditions of which looters have taken advantage.

I heard an "old saying" last night that I never heard before - The British don't complain much unless they are hungry. So perhaps these riots do run beyond the shooting. What I find interesting are the protests in Israel along with with the riots in Britain and the downgrade in the U.S. The reports from Israel say all kinds of people were protesting together - the left wing and right wing, young and old. The BBC video I watched interviewed people in Israel and the whole thing sounded like it could have taken place in the U.S.

A commentary by Josh Marshall from TPM - Suddenly It's the 70s All Over No two times are the same. And the economic travails of the 1970s were entirely different from what we have today -- they were tied to inflation, oil shocks and what seemed at least like low growth -- not massive contractions and 'first world' debt crises. But with the mix of roiling economic crises, mushrooming riots spreading across the United Kingdom, it's hard not to think we've been transported to a different decade, a different era. And certainly not a better one. Suddenly It's the 70s All Over | Talking Points Memo

Things are really heating up in the western world because of the bad and shaky economy. People in Israel held massive protests in that country complaining about the high cost of living and housing and the gap between the poor/middle class and wealthy. Meanwile riots are spreading in Britain over a shooting but there are other things contributing to the riots - bad economy, high cost of living, etc... Israeli pocketbook woes awaken a dormant protest spirit(VIDEO) - CSMonitor.com Israel is awash in the largest public protest movement in recent memory after more than 250,000 took to the streets over the weekend to demand reforms to ease the economic burden on the middle class. The mass demonstrations, an odd jumble of everyone from leftists to ultra-Orthodox Jews, mark a new activist spirit among young Israelis who have grown increasingly indifferent toward their government. And the British riots: London Riots Rage On For Third Day Violence and looting spread across some of London's most impoverished neighborhoods on Monday, with youths setting fire to shops and vehicles, during a third day of rioting in the city that will host next summer's Olympic Games. Skirmishes broke out between police and groups of youths across Britain's capital, and also spread to the nation's central city of Birmingham – where police said dozens of people were involved in damaging shops across the city center.

Downgraded US Credit Rating: What comes of Coddling the Super-Rich | Informed Comment The decision of Standard & Poor to downgrade the credit rating of the United States of America from AAA to AA+ was clearly based on uncertainty in two major areas. The first and least important was the wrangling on the debt ceiling, which took the US to the brink of not being able to meet its debt servicing obligations for as long as the impasse lasted. The second was the increasing refusal of the American business classes to pay their fair share of taxes. ...So the first reason for the downgrade was the irresponsible and flaky behavior of the Tea Party, which created an artificial crisis for the benefit of its Koch Brother patrons, so as to throw more government resources at the super-rich and fewer at ordinary people.

Leap Of Faith | Talking Points Memo Back in 2002, when a reporter asked Texas Governor Rick Perry how his faith informed his politics, he replied, "I don't think it does, particularly." Additionally, he seemed to treat the act of praying as a fairly private matter. Times change don't they? Nothing like a politician using religion as a tool to gain support.

Personally I'm hoping for more of this. Europe is on very shaky ground. I hope they fall economically and that will finally kick over the U.S. You touch the flame as a kid and learn a lesson - don't put your finger into fire. I guess some need to have their whole arm burned before they understand the lesson. Burn the house down, that might rally the people into good reform - higher taxes, tarrifs on imports , more regulation, universal healthcare, finally bringing corrupt Wall Street leaders to justice, etc...

David Koresh thought he was some godly leader and he was abusing kids. I even remember hearing he made a rock video staring himself. This Jeffs guy is the same. A law breaking nut. Since he represented himself in court he must have known he had no chance. People like this are clearly guilty. But what about their followers? I would say many are born into it and so can not be held responsible. Still, these are serous crimes. They are so serious I would also punish the parents, punish them severely. Both the dads and moms.

Facts are facts. Those airline companies are rotten. And no, you can't leave businesses to regulate themselves. If you do we will have more problems like the salmonella outbreak. I wonder if the airlines are taking the extra money they are making and putting it into safety. I doubt it.

You are being radical on purpose to make me and other progressive look radical. We are not saying nationalize everything. The subject is the airlines ripping the American public off. Once again large business has no shame.

Once again more evidance that large corporations are predatory and destructive. This story is a week or so old but when Congress was battling over the debt ceiling the FAA got cut along with the authority to impose some taxes on airlines. That means airlines do not have to pass those taxes on to you when you buy a ticket. But did that reduce the airline tickets? NO! The airlines went ahead and raised their rates. Now when you buy a ticket it should be $40 or so cheaper because of no taxes. Not so. You Your $250 ticket with taxes is still going to cost $250 because the airline companies are pocketing the money. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/business/airlines-raise-fares-as-federal-taxes-expire.html On Friday, Congress failed to approve the extension of a bill to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running. Among other things, that meant the agency no longer had the authority to impose the various federal taxes that airlines add to the price of each ticket. So as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the federal government began losing an estimated $25 million a day in tax revenue. But did airlines simply pass on this savings to customers? No, they did not. Jim Hightower | Airline pickpockets strike again

As I told someone last night - one time we were on the gold standard. Back in the 70s we moved to the money standard. Beginning in the early 80s we slowly but surely moved to the Wall Street standard. We are led by Wall Street. The large banks and multinationals are the new mafia. Half the country supports Wall Street and supports those that think corporations have a "soul" and have the same rights as human individuals. They have pushed the idea that Wall Street capital is more important than human capital.

There are no or very few "secret combinations" but there are many visible combinations that harm the world right in front of our eyes. I'm talking about large banks, Wall Street, and global multinationals, and just about any corporation. I don't think it really matters. A good chunk of the U.S. public supports politicians that get wined and dined by wealthy corporations and visible "secret combinations." We don't know what they are talking about at the table or while playing golf at some exclusive club. If the public does not care about those secret combinations then I don't think they will care about any hidden secret combinations.

My how times have changed. In reality - they are hypocrites.

Have you noticed the picture of the shooter that the U.S. media is using? They seem to use the same or similar picture of the shooter. I call it an "ABBA" picture. He reminds me of the ABBA singers from the 1970s. Compare that picture to the one of the man who shot the congresswoman in Arizona. The picture the U.S. media used for that guy is of him with his head shaven and looking rather psycho. I'm sure that's done on purpose and it's not a good thing.

I had a webtv back in the late 1990s. I noticed many PC users back then had a strong hatred for webtv users. I find that funny since the TV companies are now pushing internet-TVs. Is that not really an updated webtv?

One persons prayer is just as good as another persons prayer, all things being equal. Prayer is a private thing. The small ones can be just as powerful as the long prayers. We shouldn't criticize prayers but... This prayer is just too much. Along with thanking God for Ford and Toyota and a bunch of other junk, he thanks God for his "smoking hot" looking wife. NASCAR Prayer: Pastor Thanks Jesus For Engines, 'Smoking Hot Wife'

Can you believe after U.S. citizens gave Goldman Sachs ten billion dollars in bailout money, they are outsourcing 1,000 of their U.S. jobs to Singapore? And this is happening after the fact that the company made 2.7 billion in profits in the first three months of 2011. Goldman Sachs' 'troubling' outsourcing plan - Yahoo! News After taking a massive bailout from American taxpayers, Goldman Sachs plans to fire 1,000 U.S. workers and replace them with staffers in Singapore This is offensive... and not surprising: It's insulting that Goldman is killing 1,000 high-skilled, high-paying U.S. jobs just three years after U.S. taxpayers gave it a $10 billion bailout, says Scott Keyes at ThinkProgress...

Murdoch hit in face with shaving cream during hearing by comedian Jonnie Marbles. I've never heard of Jonnie Marbles but get the feeling he will get few more gigs after this incident. A protester attacked media titan Rupert Murdoch with a shaving-cream pie just as his Parliamentary hearing was winding down Tuesday. British media reports identified the pie flinger as Jonnie Marbles, a comedian and activist with UK Uncut, which protests bigwigs who avoid paying taxes. "You are a greedy billionaire," CNN reported he said. Read more: Rupert Murdoch attacked with shaving-cream pie over hacking scandal; Rebekah Brooks testifies

This story is getting strange. News Of The World Whistleblower Reportedly Found Dead | TPMMuckraker In another twist in the News Of The World scandal, a former reporter for the tabloid who initially alleged that editor Andy Coulson knew about the practice of phone hacking by his staff, was reportedly found dead Monday. ...According to the police report, "the death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious. Police investigations into this incident are ongoing."

Looks like this could be the big summer blockbuster. I doubt Captain America will do the business Harry is doing. There's Captain America, Cowboys and Aliens, and a new Planet of the Apes film that looks very good. I don't see any of them making more than Potter. The local theater here had two 12:01am showings, a 3D 12:05am showing and a 2:35am showing. BBC News - Harry Potter film takes $168m to break ticket records The final Harry Potter movie has shattered box office record in the US and Canada, taking $168m (£104m) over its opening weekend. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 had already made $92.1m (£57m) on its opening day, said the film's distributor, Warner Bros.

So some of you are saying: 1. What if a liberal news organisation were doing this. 2. Probably many other news organizations have wiretapped illegally. This is how you defend such horrible crimes? We are talking about illegal wiretapping and ERASING EVIDENCE IN A MURDER CASE.

And now the Wall Street Journal publisher quits. I read one British politician saying this story is their Berlin Wall moment. I've said it before and will say it again - Murdoch is a dangerous person. Wall Street Journal publisher quits in phone-hacking scandal - BostonHerald.com Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignations of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher and the chief of his British operations on Friday as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal, offering apologies to the public and the family of a murdered schoolgirl.

It seems the walls are starting to crumble on this "American" citizen. First his newspaper is caught wiretapping many and erasing evidence in a murder case of a girl in Britain. Now his company is being investigated in the U.S. Rupert Murdoch Under FBI Investigation: News Corp. Reportedly Targeted Over 9/11 Victims Hacking Scandal The FBI has opened an investigation into allegations that media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. sought to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 victims, a law enforcement official said Thursday. A rival newspaper reported last week that the News of the World had hacked into the phone of U.K. teenage murder victim Milly Dowler in 2002 and may have impeded a police investigation into her disappearance.

Babies are human and have, basically, the same rights as someone in their teens, twenties, eighties, etc... A ban on babies is prejudiced and wrong.